IONTAS has entered a collaboration with IGEM Therapeutics (IGEM), an immuno-oncology company developing novel immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to treat cancer. The project will add to IGEM’s pipeline of drugs and expand upon IGEM-F, an IgE targeting ovarian and other cancers, currently in a Phase 1/2a study. 

IONTAS will utilize its proprietary antibody discovery technology to help IGEM identify novel IgE antibodies against two targets.

IgE antibodies have been shown to permeate tumor tissue more effectively, exhibit enhanced effector functions and stimulate significantly greater levels of cytotoxicity and phagocytosis than IgG antibodies. IONTAS will apply its proprietary antibody discovery libraries and technologies to identify specific, high-affinity antibodies against two tumor-associated targets. Functional screening of IgE-formatted antibodies will be carried out to identify the most appropriate candidates for therapeutic development.

John McCafferty, chief executive officer at IONTAS, said, “This collaboration capitalizes on the antibody discovery capabilities at IONTAS which enable the generation of high-quality therapeutic antibodies using phage-display or mammalian-display. We maintain a strong interest in developing novel therapeutic approaches and recognize IgE therapeutics as an important addition to the armory of novel cancer therapies. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with fellow innovators at IGEM on these two exciting projects.”

Tim Wilson, chief executive officer at IGEM, said, “IONTAS was selected as our development partner of choice because of their extensive experience and track record in delivering therapeutic antibodies. The combination of the IGEM IgE platform and the discovery capability of IONTAS will rapidly expand our portfolio of antibodies and help meet our ambitions to progress new leads into the clinic.”